Evangelion: The Guardian Forces
by Bal'ferrin
Summary: EvangelionFinal Fantasy VIII crossover! Pairings as of yet ambiguous. R&R and please enjoy!
1. The Beginning

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Neon Genesis Evangelion: Final Fantasy VIII

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Disclaimer: I don't own the Final Fantasy series or Evangelion. Nor do I make money off writing these fanfics. Please don't sue me.

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A/N: Trying to combine elements of Final Fantasy VIII and Evangelion

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Thanks to GhostMan, Richard Rahl and '01' for the reviews- gonna update this then get to work on a second chapter. 

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All right this might require a bit of an introduction.

In this world the Evangelions are billed by Nerv as man-made 'special' GF's created in Deling city. Although most GF's are sentient and grant power to their summoner as well as being able to physically manifest and do some damage, the Evas can only be summoned and even then need to be piloted. Oh and they're no longer taller than buildings anymore, only 20 feet or so. (I changed the height so Squall might have a chance when he goes up against Unit 01 later)

Basically it was discovered that there was more than one kind of GF.

In addition to the traditional junctioned GF, there are:

The Familiars: GF's that are permanently physically manifest but are categorised as Guardian Forces because they rely on another being's energy for survival.

The Augments: GF's that cannot move on their own but merge with their summoners to augment his/her power- like the Evas, and the thirteen Knights of the Round.

And The Entrapped: Guardian Forces whose spirits are bonded to an item- Diablo and Griever. 

Few of the 'new' GF's are available, and they are all unique. That is, like Bahamut and Eden, there are not multiple copies of the GF available for summoning.

The creature that formed the basis of the Evangelions was the mysterious entity discovered on the Island closest to Heaven, that was subdued by an unknown force 15 years earlier. 

Instead of a battery, the Evas drain the energies of their summoner, ceasing to function once those energies reach a dangerous low. The actual abilities of the Evangelions in combat were only tested once, against a platoon of Ifrit and Shiva GF's- with phenomenal success.

Of course, as with anything Final Fantasy, the Evas have their own specialties.

Eva 01 afflicts poison upon enemies with every strike and is immune to the status (gimme a break, there aren't any elements whose colour is purple, and death/shadow I'm reserving for later).

Eva 02 has superheated fists, dealing the equivalence of fire damage, and 90% fire resistance.

Eva 00 has supercooled fists, doing ice-based damage and 90% cold resistance.

Eva 03 has- ehhhh better not get ahead of myself here…

Nerv and the Evas are located where Balamb Gardens are, and the Eva summoners become part of Garden- which itself becomes, every day, closer and closer to being part of Nerv. Balamb city is also now considerably larger, in order to accomodate both the normal inhabitants and Nerv operators.

What most people don't know about the Evas is that- actually I probably shouldn't tell…

In terms of timeline… well obviously having Evas around would fudge up the FFVIII plot and world a bit, so that's rather irrelevent. 

And Rei is still has parts of Lilith and Yui, but her 'soul' is born of another, and she grew up mostly in the company of Asuka and Shinji- hence some changes to personality.

Well, on with the story!

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Balamb Gardens is a beautiful place.

The archaic design of the dome and its many wings are sleek, almost aerodynamic, and its colours almost match those of the sky- a light blue pleasant to the eye. 

Outside was a lush green landscape, grasslands with patches of forest and a pretty coastline, framed by a series of mountains. All monster infected, of course.

But the garden was closed off from the savage beauty around it.

Beyond its cheerfully painted exterior there lived a horde of mercenaries in training, an entire branch of soldiers for hire and a large staff of workers.

But recently things have changed…

"Commander Ikari I object!"

Ikari glared down from his elevated desk at the quivering round body of Headmaster Cid, his expression hidden by white gloves and his eyes by dark glasses.

Founder of SeeD and overseer of Balamb Gardens. 

Former overseer, actually.

The chubby man glared uselessly at the men 'redecorating' the headmaster's quarters. Inwardly he railed against anything he could- although Gendo's name came up several times, often in conjuction with language more colourful than anything his students used.

"You cannot just take over the school's resources! There are students here, whose parents have paid-"

Gendo cut him off. "The _children_ will be permitted to continue their training here. Your precious mercenaries may continue their operations if you wish. But Nerv will appropriate the new residence wing and the sub-basements. You agreed to this, Cid, when you accepted funding from us." He made no effort to hide his disdain for the Headmaster and the Garden's other functions. 

"You-"

This time it was sub-commander Fuyutsuki that interrupted the nearly apoplexic Headmaster. "The resources will go toward a good cause, Headmaster Cid. And the Garden faculty have already been informed of their relocation, there will be no problems. I assure you."

Gendo's cold eyes watched as Cid seemed to seethe with rage, but finally the balding man gave a terse nod.

"Very well, Commander Ikari" Cid spat out the words with venom, "And what of my office?"

"A temporary office has been commissioned for you on the second floor. Leave. We have work to do here."

Headmaster Cid, with a final threatening glare at Ikari, strode from the room, his hands clenched behind his back. 

As the other man left, Fuyutsuki couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"We are making an unnecessary enemy, Gendo."

"He is of no importance."

Gendo and Fuyutsuki's eyes drifted to a picture just placed on the commander's desk by one of the Nerv movers.

For a long while neither said anything, each lost in their own memories of the short-haired woman in the picture.

Finally Gendo broke the silence. "Fuyu-" he paused when his voice cracked, a frown almost creasing his lips, and restarted, "Fuyutsuki."

The older man reluctantly left his reverie and turned his gray eyes down to Gendo.

Without looking away from Yui's photo, Gendo continued "Tell Doctor Akagi to prepare the Children for another test."

======

Elsewhere other preparations were being made.

In a darkened room, twelve black monoliths float in the air, visible only by the distortions where the rays from the only light source in the room hit them. And by the numbers inscribed upon them- 01 through to 12. The organisation known as SEELE.

The twelve form a rough oval, at one end of which is the one labelled '12' and at the other end, bathed with gold from a spotlight from the heavens, was a woman dressed in a fashion the world should see for many years.

It is she who first speaks. "How much progrez haz been made een your Inztrumentazion?" Her accent was… strange, to say the least.

A deep, neutral voice seems to answer from all the monoliths at once "Chairwoman Ultimecia, I- we are pleased to report that Nerv has set up office in Balamb Gardens, and the final testing stages of the Evanglions is set to commence very soon. The being you gave life to shows… some promise as a pilot." There was a pause, then the voice sounded again. "The sorceress Edea is playing right into our hands, and Tabris will ensure that the Angels are contacted from Dollet."

"Good, good. And vat of Griever?" Ultimecia smiled like a fox chatting with her prey.

There was a long pause before deep voice resonated, "Well… An agent was dispatched to Winhill, but it been given to a boy. Attempts at tracking him have proved… futile."

The sorceress' eyes narrowed, and a burst of raging flames erupted from her seated body that, if the monoliths had been people, would have roasted all twelve of them. "Find eet!"

Nervousness was palpable in the voice when it answered hastily, "W-we will." The words seemed completely unnatural as it had been delivered in the same monotone as the reports. 

Abruptly the strange woman calmed visibly. "Vat of ze… Eva pilots? Are zey powerful enough to fight ze ones who vill kill me?"

"…We do not know yet."

One could almost hear the speaker cringe as he spoke. But surprisingly the sorceress did not lash out. Instead she settled into the velvet of her seat. "Good." She narrowed her eyes at the twelvth monolith, "And ze zirteenz knight? Have you found eet yet?"

There were multiple gasps of surprise, all spoken by the same voice yet overlapping each other.

This seemed to amuse the woman from the future. She turned her head back, letting her long dark hair cascade like black water, and cackled. "You regret calling me from my time, do you not?"

Again the response was chaotic- several monoliths tried to deny this at the same time, their overlapping voices sounding the same and coming from every direction. 

Ultimecia grinned "Eet does not matter. Your 'Knights of ze Round' vill not hurt me. But zey may be of help later. Continue. And remember, I vill kill you eef you try to do zis again…"

The "A-as you wish, chairwoman Ultimecia."

"Good…"

======

Back at Garden, three Evangelion pilots found themselves in a rather compromising situation.

With nothing but thin walls of foliage separating their naked bodies, the two girls and one lucky (though he might not believe it) guy shivered against the chilly air that billowed around the Garden training area.

It was their second battle in the Evas, and Ritsuko had requested that they do it in the buck this time to create some different data or something like that. 'Nothing but perverted baloney,' as Asuka put it.

Speaking of the redhead…

"Hentai! You better not be getting any ideas about this Third Child!"

The girl's victim and erstwhile friend, Shinji, turned an even deeper shade of red as blood rushed to his face and, thankfully, away from his nether regions.

Standing on Shinji's right side, Rei allowed her eyebrows to twitch slightly, a movement nobody saw as Asuka was glaring at Shinji, who was trying his best to stare straight ahead. Her red eyes swiveled around to look past Shinji and at the redhead on his other side.

"Why are you yelling?"

"W-what?"

Rei's iron discipline prevented the girl from smiling as she repeated her question with tongue fully in cheek, "Why are you yelling?"

"S-So this baka" Asuka pointed accusingly at the dark-haired boy, "Won't look at us innocent girls! Who knows what perverted ideas will run through that stooge's head?" Her blue eyes glared at the side of Shinji's head.

The corner of Rei's mouth twitched slightly, the movement again unnoticed, "But you are the one looking at him…"

A resounding 'NANIIII?' scared a pair of grats off the tree they were resting on and sent them buzzing away.

Almost too quietly to be heard under the buzzing and Asuka's yelling, Shinji whispered, "Arigato, Ayanami-kun."

======

Meanwhile, in a newly furbished room somewhere in the sub-basement, the bridge bunnies were laughing their asses off.

Pandemonium reigned down here. Shigeru's chair tipped back as the long-haired man lost his precarious balance. Misato tumbled onto a hysterical Makoto's lap as she shook with laughter. Maya struggled to get up from the floor where she had fallen after a previous bout of intense giggling. Even Ritsuko was showing signs of being affected, although she restrained herself much better thant the others.

"You know… Ritsuko, the embedded microphones weren't… heehee… such a bad idea after all!" the purple headed Major managed as the laugh attack wound down. Ritsuko just buried her head in her hands, futilely trying to hide the smile that she thought unbecoming of her rank.

Over the speakers Asuka's voice came again, "HENTAI! YOU LOOKED!" This proclamation was followed by a loud bonk and many muttered apologies.

This time even Ritsuko couldn't resist a chuckle. 

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A/N: So whaddya think? Coming up (if anybody cares) will be the first training mission vs an Elynoyle, then it's off to Dollet station… Ever wonder how different the mechanical spider scene would be if SeeD had three 30-foot tall behemoths on their side?

Yes, the last part is meant as a bit of comic relief…

Please R&R =D


	2. De 'First Steps' ad 'Beast Unleashed'

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Evangelion: The Guardian Forces

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Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own the worlds nor characters of Eva and Final Fantasy.

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A/N: Umm… would anybody want to pre-read this story? Please? I need someone to catch all the stupid mistakes I made… I've uploaded this document several times already, only to notice some stupid little mistake I made. =(

Anyways, on with the story!

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Chapter 1.0: First Steps

Usually the myriad paths of the Balamb Training Area would be crawling with Garden students seeking a suitable monster to practice on. 

Today, however, it was empty.

Except for three Children. In a non-existent state of dress. One of whom was attacking another with a stick, while the third watched impassively, the corners of her mouth occasionally twitching and mirth evident in her eyes.

Definitely not your average day at Garden.

Through wall-mounted speakers a scratchy rendition of Misato's voice crackled through just in time to stop Asuka from knocking Shinji out.

"Ohayo Shinji-kun! So how're you enjoying fun time with - OW!" There were the sounds of muffled argument then a loud, sustained burst of static forced the pilots to clap their hands to the sides of their heads.

When the noise cleared, it was Ritsuko's voice that broke through the ringing in their ears. "Training mission 2. An Elnoyle will be dispatched for you to eliminate in five minutes. You have only your natural reserves, do not use any items."

The reactions were as varied as the personalities of the pilots.

Shinji's eyes opened wide. "U-uh…" No items? That would give them less than five minutes of fighting to dispatch the target!

"Psssh. As if we were carrying any items to use. Why don't you give us a real challenge next time Ritsuko?" demanded the redhead, who had fortunately forgotten all about her previous grudge against the dark headed boy.

"Understood" was all Rei had to say, although her eyes suddenly lost the amusement that had played there before.

The blond scientist chose to respond to the last comment first. "Good. And Asuka?"

"What?!"

"Next time it'll be a Red Dragon…" There was a click as Ritsuko terminated the connection.

Asuka turned just a little paler.

"A-a red dragon?" Shinji swallowed against the lump in his throat. "Uhh… Asuka…?" he said without turning his head.

The redheaded girl quickly regained her composure, and was glad that nobody saw her momentary lapse. "What, the great Third Child is afraid of a Red Dragon?"

"N-no! Of course not! I was just, surprised, that's all!" Shinji stammered quickly, this time remembering not to look left. He was afraid of Red Dragons, of course. They were the kind of creatures that killed young, rash heroes. Shinji had heard them mentioned, and a few of the kids in Deling had even compared them to tonberries, the boogey-men of children everywhere. 

Rei's slender neck turned so she could level a cool stare at her fellow pilots. "Ikari-kun has nothing to be ashamed of. It is right to fear that which is fearsome."

"Ehh? Fearsome? Ha! I'll bet I could kill more Reds than you could, Wondergir-" the golden light streaming in from the ceiling dome suddenly found itself shining on a giant orange behemoth. Completely ignoring the Galbadian girl- although she spared one glance for the boy beside her- Rei headed for her Eva with confident strides. Shinji took one look at her backside and immediately looked away, trying his hardest not to die of a nosebleed.

======

Meanwhile the commotion on the 'bridge' downstairs was much subdued by the entrance of the Commander and sub-Commander.

The two men stood there for several moments listening to Asuka yell insults at Rei's back, Gendo quiet and motionless, Fuyutsuki with his brow buried in one hand as he shook his head slowly.

"Doctor Akagi," Gendo's deep voice somehow cut through the screech of Asuka's voice, "Is the Elnoyle ready?"

Ritsuko, who until then had been just staring blankly at the Commander, quickly snapped back into reality. "Y-yes sir!"

"Release it."

"What?! They're not in their Eva-" Misato began angrily, but was silenced by a glare from the commander.

"Lieutenant Katsuragi, I suggest you remember your place." That said, Gendo climbed a set of darkened stairs to an elevated platform, followed closely by the sub-Commander. From besdie Makoto's station the purple-headed lieutenant simmered. While many people hated the Nerv commander for the self-important way in which Nerv carried itself, Misato's hatred was born of what she knew of the man. 

That he had abandoned his only child. Ordered hundreds killed without a second thought. And because of the rumours of even worse, rumours not at all impossible.

Ritsuko gave an apologetic look to her purple-haired friend, then turned to Maya. "Commence the exercise.

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"GO ALREADY BAKA!" Asuka screeched as she vigorously rubbed her arms. With three Evas blocking the light it had quickly become quite dark and cold.

"W-why me?"

"Because I'm not a hentai!" she answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Shinji was about to argue his case when they both heard the hissing of hydraulics.

"Huh?"

The purple and red Evas prevented their pilots from seeing the Elnoyle that had just been released into the training center. The orange one, however, began moving.

"Gah! She'll kill it before we get a chance to even see it! Come on Third!" With that she grabbed his arm and ran forward. "If you tell anyone about this Shinji…" she yelled back, her light blue eyes sneaking just one peek before turning to the business at hand.

======

Shinji scurried up the ladder- one of the many man-made parts of the Evas- and toward the entry hatch. To his left Asuka swung open her hatch and literally dove into the cockpit. Shinji turned just in time to see her feet disappearing into the Eva, and then the red hatch swung closed.

His own hands opened the entry to Unit 01.

For a long moment the boy just stood there, staring into the dark depths of the beast, remembering how it would feel.

The first few moments would be dark, and utterly frightening. 

The stuff that filled the cockpit would be warm and wet with a taste and smell that always reminded Shinji of blood, even though the young boy had never tasted the actual substance. 

LCL, Ritsuko had called the substance inside the purple Guardian Force. And it was apparently what kept him alive inside the Evangelion. 

Then a warm, pleasant tingling would bring with it replacements to the sensations inside the cockpit. And of course he would feel the slight disorientation that inevitably accompanied suddenly growing six times taller.

After all that came what Shinji regarded as the best part- that feeling of connectedness, that one was part of something great. That one was loved, deeply and unselfishly, by another being. It made him feel that, somehow, the Augment GF had at least a primitive mind and soul of its own.

Forcing himself to focus on that last bit, Shinji crawled into the entryway. Behind him the hatch slammed shut, sending the boy into darkness…

Suddenly Shinji was very afraid. In the dark, enclosed space of the Eva cockpit, just before he and the GF connected, it was as if all his darkest nightmares could be and, indeed, would be.

Thoughts of horrible deaths and, worse, being trapped forever in the unending darkness that smelled like blood… 

Then a soothing tingle passed through his entire body like a mother's caress and man was one with beast.

At first it was strange experiencing the world through the GF's perspective.

But gradually Shinji's mind began to accept the neural stimulations from the Eva's senses.

Through the giant eyes he could see a red giant move toward an orange one that looked like it was pummeling something, both with their backs facing him.

Through the Eva's auditory receptors he could hear heavy footsteps, and the smacking of Eva fist on monster flesh. Somewhere off in the background there was the roar of some T-Rexaur, the buzzing of a swarm of grats and the faintest hint of human conversation.

Through the creature's nose he could smell the pleasant aroma of the outdoors mingling with the curious stench of the Elnoyle and tinged, as always, with a hint of blood.

One of his gargantuan legs lifted and stepped forward, and the boy could feel a tree bending then breaking under the unnatural strength of the Evangelion.

A split second later the GF took its second crashing step.

The battle had begun.

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Interlude: Calm Before the Storm

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Galahad.

That was his name.

He was dressed in white armour that obscured every part of him. Sheathed on his left side was the undecorated leather handle of a greatsword, occasionally hidden by the billowing folds of his red cape.

Kneeling before the knight was a man with long dark hair who had obviously not shaven in a long time.

The unlikely pair stood on a windy cliff, surrounded by the stormy sky above and turbulent waters below. The brightest source of light, save for the lightning that crackled in the background, was Galahad. His armour gave off an unnaturally holy glow that bespoke immense power.

"Are you willing to sacrifice that much?" One could not see Galahad's lips move, but one could feel the majestic sound of his voice emanating from the mighty form.

There was a long pause, then the kneeling man, without raising his head, said, "I am prepared." 

The knight's white helmet bobbed up and down once with a squeak of metal grating against metal. "You are honorable, and worthy. I will grant to you your request human."

The greatsword made a soft scratching sound as it was pulled from its halberd.

In an imperious voice that echoed into the darkened heavens the knight proclaimed"I, Galahad, dub thee, Kaji Ryouji, my Ward, to protect from harm so long as there is strength in mine flesh." The flat of the greatsword ceremoniously tapped each of the man's shoulders.

That done, the knight bowed once to his newest Lord, and the red folds of his cape extended to surround his armoured form. Moments later the cape was blown away by the wind. With Kaji felt like a part of himself had taken away, and rightfully so.

Several of his tears were scattered by the wind. ['Forgive me, Misato. I… must.']

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Chapter 1.5: Beast Unleashed

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The Elnoyle looked like any other Elnoyle.

A duck-billed monstrosity whose legless thorax floated several feet from the air. It was currently using both its arms to defend itself against Rei's pummel.

The orange Evangelion had broken off a significant portion of the creature's beak, and there were numerous dents on its carapace covered with frozen rivulets of blue.

From the side the hulking form of Asuka's red Unit 02 charged into the fray, landing a single punch to the side of the Elnoyle's head that sent the beast flying through the air.

With a loud boom the monster fell to the ground twenty feet away, crushing a tree and the grats resting on it. The crater created by Unit 02's fist was literally smoking, and blue scabs had formed where the heat from the Eva's fist had cauterised the wound.

Even though the pilots were not wearing their communication devices, Rei could pretty well imagine Asuka taunting her about being weak. But her opinion was not of any importance.

Unconsciously Rei's eyebrows furrowed- albeit slightly- as she advanced toward the motionless target.

The stench of burnt flesh mingled with the other scents… And suddenly Rei could hear a roar from behind her.

Whirling around, the orange Eva moved in time to see a black cloud envelop Asuka's GF.

['What… is going on?']

======

A slightly distorted and jumpy rendition of this was played out on a telescreen in the sub-basement.

Misato's eyes went wide. Despite her low rank she was familiar with this form of attack.

"Pain…" ['But such a weak Elnoyle shouldn't be able to use it… Wait, the pilots feel what the Eva does! Oh my god, Asuka!'] Her eyes opened wide.

Indeed even before the dark cloud cleared the roars of the Eva could be heard- 'pain' it seemed to scream, 'so much pain.' Misato's eyes lost focus as they stared at the screen. Old memories of her own first encounter with an Elnoyle passed through her mind. Invariably, as with all old memories, they led to thoughts of Kaji…

"What?! Guardian Forces cannot be subject to status effects!" Ritsuko said.

From the raised platform Gendo asked his subordinate "How much is known about these beings, Doctor Akagi?"

"N-not much…"

"Then we will have to accept this as a possibility. Allow the simulation to continue."

"I'll have the techs cast Esuna on the-" Maya began.

"No."

"What?!" Misato snapped out of a pleasant memory in time to object. "You can't let her suffer like this!" Asuka, whether the girl liked it or not, was the Lieutenant's ward, and the purple-haired woman felt as much affection for the redhead as she did for the younger Ikari. 

And even if she didn't know the redhead Misato would've demanded she be healed- she had gone through a pain attack once. Nobody deserved such treatment.

"Let us see how the pilots handle this new situation." 

Well, almost nobody.

The Lieutenant grit her teeth but said nothing further. She had come to think of the Second and Third Children as her own, and thus her position as Guardian was not something she'd give up like some useless rank. 

======

"ASUKA!" Shinji shouted into the LCL. 

Nobody heard him.

But anybody listening would have heard the hastening of Unit 01's pace as it charged forward, crushing anything foolish enough to stand between a twenty five-foot tall Guardian Force and its intended victim.

As he ran he glanced at Unit 02, still crouching with its hands covering its four eyes. Shinji noted the green boils covering what few pieces of the Eva's flesh could be seen beyond the armor. Roars thundered from the poisoned Guardian Force's throat, each deafening growl conveying the extreme pain the girl/GF was feeling.

Rei was closer, so she got to the Elnoyle first.

Inwardly the girl thought to herself that without her gun she could not do enough damage. A flaw in the Evangelion design? Or a flaw in herself…? Asuka had done quite well with just her fists, as those were the weapons she was trained in. Perhaps…

She decided to talk to Commander Ikari about this later.

One freezing cold Eva hand picked up the still prone form of the Elnoyle and the other commenced smashing the limp monster's face.

The orange fist had only landed four times before a searing hot bolt of pain lanced through Rei's entire consciousness.

======

Shinji had almost gotten to Rei and the Elnoyle when a huge bolt of lightning streaked from the sky, shocking both Elnoyle and Evangelion.

Unit 00 flew backwards in the air so quickly that were Shinji's ears still connected to the Eva's he would have heard the air being shredded by the massive beast.

Light from the attack blinded the young boy temporarily, and although the Eva's eyes recovered quickly, Shinji's mind did not.

So he couldn't even see the orange Eva flying toward him.

Shinji could feel the pain as something huge smashed into his chest though. And even greater pain as a poorly placed concrete beam, part of the perpetual state of reconstruction the Training Area was in, stabbed through the Evangelion's lower back. Fortunately for the boy the beam had narrowly missed the Eva's vertebrae.

Still his mind had recoiled partially from the sudden overflow of sensory stimulation. For what seemed like an eternity Shinji was back in the foreboding darkness while the Eva sought to re-establish complete connection with its pilot's mind.

The boy's nose filled with the scent of charred flesh.

Then an almost mechanical shiver passed through his body as he was again one with the beast.

======

"What's wrong Squall? Afraid? Fight me!"

"…"

"Come on!"

Trying his best to ignore the behemoths duking it out near them, Squall squared his broad shoulders and held out his gunblade.

Seifer's lips twisted into a leer as the young man charged forward with his own blade…

======

Shinji winced from the scorching pain in his lower back. Gently he pushed Ayanami's Eva off his. "Ow…" he muttered.

['It's not my pain. It's not my pain. It's not my pain.'] The boy's silent mantra seemed to help. A little.

The Eva got shakily to its legs. It was so… unnaturally quiet. Apparently the Eva's sense of hearing had been totalled by thunder.

Clouds had obscured the sun during the time that Shinji had partially lost connection, and in the glass dome above there was a huge hole where the Elnoyle's Thundaga attack had entered the Garden.

Unit 01 took a step forward and almost tripped on the orange Eva.

['Ayanami…'] Shinji looked down. The Evangelion's front chest plate had been completely destroyed by the Thundaga, and where it used to be the flesh sizzled. The glowing yellow eyes no longer glowed. Rei's strength must have been really sapped by that attack. 

Shinji suddenly realised how tired he was. ['No! I must not give up… Must not… run away…']

Every wound to the Evangelion made it so much harder to hold on to the giant. Any moment now Ayanami's GF would disappear, leaving its pilot naked against the elements…

He happened to look up and saw the Elnoyle. Its entire front had been blackened by lightning. The duck-billed face had been completely eradicated, nothing but a mound of charred flesh remained. Yet the creature was still floating.

['Asuka…'] He glanced left and saw that Unit 02 was still there, curled up in pain. Looked like Shinji would have to finish this alone…

The purple Eva lurched forward…

======

Through cameras hidden in the Training Area canopy the bridge watched the First Child's Evangelion waver and disappear.

Gendo, normally very protective of Rei, seemed quite unperturbed by this.

The Lieutenant's eyes narrowed. ['What's going on?']

Sitting at her console Maya discreetly ran a blood-analysis on the Elnoyle, which was definitely looking weird, while everyone else stared at the telescreen.

['Blood pattern… Teal?!'] The young tech's eyes opened wide and she quickly closed the program. What the hell? Everything had a blood pattern! GF's were orange. Monsters were green. Humans were red… ['What… is that thing?']

======

['First blood…'] Squall was surprised. Normally it was Seifer who landed the first blow, and Squall who retaliated. But today…

The other man had been temporarily distracted by the battling giants, and his guard had slipped just a fraction of an inch for a fraction of a second. It was enough for Squall to curve in with his gunblade to slice at the bridge of Seifer's nose.

Before he could bring his blade down in a follow through there was a large explosion and both duellers were tossed aside by a wave of searing heat.

======

Shinji had only taken four steps before the Elnoyle had raised its arms, separating the flesh that had been charred together as it did so.

The explosion radiated out from the monster, but even seeing it didn't help as the boy had no time to escape…

For a long moment Shinji felt his entire body burn and melt…

======

Asuka was scared. The pain attack had severed her connections to Unit 02, and she hadn't been able to recapture it. She wasn't even sure if she was in the Evangelion any more. If she was enveloped by protective LCL Asuka couldn't feel it. And if she was alone…

['NO! I-I won't…'] adamantly Asuka refused to allow it. Being with the Evangelion made her feel… Powerful. As if nothing in the world could possibly hurt her.

Obviously now that was wrong.

Yet still Asuka always felt comfortable inside the Eva. Far more than she was outside it.

In there she didn't need anyone.

Not some wimpy little boy, not Kaji- a single tear escaped at the thought of the 'traitor'-, not Misato and definitely not Wondergirl!

Her eyes and skin felt like they were on fire. It was preposterous that she could be actually damaged while inside the GF but… But they didn't really know all that much about the Evas.

['It's not your fault'] Asuka thought to the Eva even though she knew it was foolish- Evangelions didn't have minds. 

['Reconnect damn it!']

======

Groaning Shinji struggled to his feet.

['It's still… here?'] He would have expected the Eva to have vanished with that last assault…

The purple Eva shakily got to its feet.

['I've got to… I've got to end this…']

Off in the corner of his eye he saw a red blur.

['Asuka!']

Unit 02 ran toward the Elnoyle…

======

"Let me go! Damn it! I have to- LET GO OF ME!" Misato struggled futilely against the vise-like grips of two Section-2 agents.

Gendo Ikari glanced at her one then returned his attention to the telescreen. This was most interesting. 

['The old men will be pleased.'] Inwardly Gendo was as well. The Evangelions were standing up to the test. This 'modified' Elnoyle that SEELE had given him was supposed to have been nearly unstoppable, for the pilots to kill it even once… It was regrettable that Rei had failed, of course, but the girl was back to being replaceable. A second batch had finally been completed.

Agent Ryouji had been a fool to give in to kindness. He should not have let the Children live.

There was a smack and Misato finally managed to break free of her captors. She made a dash for the door…

And was swallowed by a large ball of darkness.

The Section-2 agent's Demi attack, the third one cast on Misato in the past two minutes, did a good job of stopping the Lieutenant in her tracks. After the ball faded away she collapsed to the ground unconscious as the techies watched helplessly. No doubt they were having dark thoughts about their commander.

It didn't matter to Gendo.

White gloved hands clasped before his face, he continued watching the battle unfold…

======

It hurt. The entire left side of his face burned like hell. His left hand felt like it was going to drop off his hand any second. The rest of him had been burned pretty badly by the shockwave too, but Squall couldn't feel them over the pain from his left side.

Squall got to one knee and looked toward the source of the explosion. An entire section of the Training Area was in flames. He was lucky that he was on one of the rocky parts, and even though the stone beneath him seared to the touch, it was much better than being caught in the inferno that consumed other places. 

Through the smoke he could see the purple giant had getting to its feet, and the red one running toward the Elnoyle.

Suddenly the Elnoyle thrust a badly burnt arm at the red. Three blue, twirling streams of energy burst from the monster's fingers, curling around one another as they shot toward the approaching beast. They carved a path through the smoke that recoiled away from the blast as if burned.

The attack hit… And at the same time Squall felt a spreading pain on the bridge of his nose.

Blood splattered to the hot stones and sizzled.

Through the red haze the young man could see Seifer, his gunblade held high with sizzling blood on the hot metal.

Squall screamed in more rage than pain…

======

"ASUKA!" Shinji yelled for the second time that day as the three streaks of blue smashed simultaneously into the red Eva's chest.

And through…

"NOOOO!"

For a moment the red Evangelion stood there, a gaping hole in its chest. Then it collapsed to the burning ground with a deep thwump.

All sensation began to fade.

He ran through the crackling flames, feeling himself crush small burning trees and smash aside larger ones in a blind need to rip the Elnoyle apart.

The flames should have hurt… But they didn't.

He couldn't smell the smoke either. Or feel the Eva's now mostly unarmored hands wrap around the badly burnt meat of the Elnoyle.

Yet he could see himself throwing the creature toward a rocky plain. And with horror he could see two people standing on the rocks, outlined by the light of the flames.

Overhead thunder rumbled.

And inside Evangelion Unit 01, everything went dark…

======

To be continued…

======

A/N: So, whaddya think? Please R&R… I got the Elnoyle's last attack from a trailer for FFVII: Advent Children. =D

Next chapter: Awakening/Memories

I will be relegating the roles of FFVIII characters, as this story is about Evangelion. But they will be playing parts. 

I've decided that this story will run parallel to FFVIII's main plot, to allow for some of the things I'll be doing later…

And Unit 00 is orange here because it is still the prototype model. It will 'evolve' eventually, but for now it remains orange.

I'm going to try not to fudge up the character personalities- Rei is still quiet and reserved, although markedly less so (after all, her life and origins have been different), Asuka still acts tough and picks on Shinji, who I've tried to model after the AU toward the end of the TV series.

Oh and I'm only 16 so please excuse any lapses in writing style- still haven't hammered mine down yet.

R&R ! !


	3. Awakening

Evangelion: The Guardian Forces

======

Disclaimer: I don't own Eva or Final Fantasy. Quelle surprise, non?

Many thanks to 01 for being my pre-reader!! And sorry about the speed… School's getting way busier with the year coming to an end and all the summative evaluations/ISU's…

======

"ASUKA! SHINJI!" Misato called out, her voice all but lost in the crackling of flames. Smoke filled her lungs and made her cough but the woman kept on screaming regardless. The kids- 

Gesturing with her hands, the purple-headed Lieutenant created a watery sphere that flew forward, smothering a section of the inferno directly before her.

She wasn't the only one trying to put out the flames. Garden officers, students, SeeDs, and many Nerv employees spread out into the burning trees, each casting their own Water spells or summoning Ice based GF's to stop the destruction.

"SHIN-" Misato stumbled and almost fell, one hand clutching her forehead. Those Demis that damned Section 2 agent had cast were taking their toll…

Suddenly she heard a loud creaking from her right and whirled just in time to see a burning tree topple toward her…

Only to be knocked away, shimmering with frost in the firelight, after being hit by a massive Blizzaga.

"Like old times, huh Misato?" asked her saviour.

The Lieutenant looked at her blonde friend and gave a lopsided half-smile.

"Nothing but our looks and magic to go on, right Ritsu?"

Ritsuko half-smiled. ['You'll never change Katsuragi.']

"You know," Ritsuko started, taking her place at Misato's left, "I'm not paying for the drinks this time"

Wry laughter rang out, drowned out by the crackling of flames and the calls of impromptu firefighters.

======

Chapter 2.0: Awakening 

Headmaster Cid plopped down onto the blue beanbag, an empty martini glass in one hand. ['What am I going to do? Nerv…'] Images of Commander Ikari and a burning Training Area came into his mind, ['Damn them!']

Cid resisted the urge to throw the glass across the room, instead setting it down on the floor. ['Grand Hyne!! If only you were here, Edea…']

The Headmaster's private chambers had not been usurped- not yet anyway. It was surprisingly bare of luxuries for someone who, supposedly at least, ran the most renowned military academy in the world. Some old oak furniture, tacky yellow wall-paper, a beanbag permanently fixed with an imprint of Cid's posterior, some boring-looking machines, a Queen sized bed with a Cid-sized depression on the left side… Not much at all.

The dining area was somewhat better off- a solid mahogany bar with several various liquors stored there. And above was a light browncabinet with a few bottles of champagne that the Headmaster saved for special occasions. ['Like anniversaries'] thought the old man bitterly.

With a sigh Cid reached over and pressed a button on a gray machine. This one looked suspiciously like a phone, only instead of a receiver it had what looked like a tape player. As Cid's pudgy finger depressed a blue button the tape started playing…

The first few seconds held nothing but silence.

['Does Ikari even use his phone?'] Cid thought, ['Maybe he uses e-mail instead… ?'] The Headmaster realised that perhaps it wasn't worth the trouble to tap into the Commander's phone line after all.

Then he heard a low man's voice begin to speak…

[']

"The resident doctor has submitted her report. The Second and Third Children suffered from burns of varying degree, all healable. The First Child, however, has been severely damaged. I would like to recommend discarding and replacing-" ['Discarding and replacing…?!']

"Heal her."

"C-Commander? It would be much... I-I mean y-yes sir… right away" There was a click of a phone being hung up.

[/']

A few seconds later the tape player stopped, having reached the end of what little it had recorded.

"Do they have so little respect for their pilots?" Cid shook his head. At least he was morally superior, if not financially, physically nor magically. The thought made his belly feel warm.

Or maybe it was the wine.

For a long time the Headmaster's room was motionless. After an eternity the silence was broken by the faintest of snores. The noise built gradually in volume as Cid sank deeper and deeper into slumber.

Soundlessly the lights shut themselves off.

======

Misato gently brushed aside loose strands of newly regenerated brown hair from Shinji's sweaty forehead. The woman's eyes were somewhat misty as she regarded the unconscious form of her young charge. Hyne, she didn't want to lose him too!

Standing in the doorway, Ritsuko chose not to make a comment about Misato 'putting the moves' on Commander Ikari's son. Given the current conditions, she decided, it would not have been the friendly thing to do.

['Friendly. What would I know about friendly?'] she thought bitterly. The woman's face darkened. A part of her longed to be in Misato's place. She had seen the way Shinji and even Asuka looked at their guardian. It was a look her cats would never give her.

Pure human affection.

Misato had yelled at her for 'filling the holes in her life with cats' before. And it was true. Doctor Akagi glared down at the shadow that stretched out from her feet as if seeking- but never reaching- the humanity before her.

Still next to the hospital bed Misato frowned. The boy had been badly burned. A vigorous dose of Hi-Potions had been fed to him, as high as was safe for his youthful metabolism, but he had not healed completely.

The boy's skin held an unhealthy pale tint, and he had not yet woken up.

Well it wasn't such a surprise after everything that happened.

After Eva-01 went ballistic, exhibiting a savagery that could not possibly have come from the timid boy who was supposed to be its master.

They- Ritsuko, the Commander and everybody else involved in Project E- had always believed the Evangelions to be mindless automatons.

But it turns out they know even less about their creations than they thought.

She looked at the unconscious boy again. That Commander Ikari, forcing both his wife and son into a monster nobody knew anything about and for what? So he could lead some agency?

The Lieutenant looked at her male ward again, ['Don't worry Shinji, you'll be fine…'] Misato thought, more to comfort herself than anything.

That done she moved across the room to give Asuka one last check-over. The Second Child had, surprisingly, fared much better than the Third. Her burns were mild and already her skin had returned to its usual rosy colour. But she too was unconscious. Nothing major though. Probably just because her mana had gotten too low…

An ether would have waken her up but the Commander hadn't wanted to 'waste' an ether.

['You're a strong girl Asuka…'] Misato's smile became wistful as she caught her own thoughts.

Kaji had been right.

She did, eventually, get used to the hot-tempered Galbadian girl. And as usual this somber line of thought brought her to a more painful topic.

['Kaji…']

As she stared at the head of her shadow, Ritsuko's expression suddenly lifted as the blonde woman reached a decision.

"Am- " She quickly cut herself off. ['No, it's- it's a stupid thing to ask. I'll ask, I'll ask…'] Her face darkened with realisation.

"What's wrong, Ritsuko?" Misato asked with a look of true concern, it wasn't like the Doctor be so unsure of herself.

"Huh- yeah, I'm fine." Ritsuko forced a smile that gradually became genuine. "So… how about a drink, Misato?"

The purple-haired Lieutenant grinned, obviously quite happy with that idea.

"Only if you're paying Ritsu!" she said cheerfully.

"Only if you'll pay me back." Ritsuko replied with a coy smile.

"Awww, you're no fun." Misato mock pouted and thus two women left, joking and chatting like…

['Like friends.']

======

In a room somewhere, twelve old men watched a replay of the Evangelion test on a hologram projected from the room's middle.

Flinching could almost be heard when the bursts of blue energy cut through Eva-02 like it was made of butter.

Moments later the entire room gasped involuntarily as Eva-01 ripped the sizzling Elnoyle apart with savage ferocity. Chunks of Elnoyle flesh flew everywhere. The purple Evangelion's own fingers smoked and burned after a while, from prolonged contact with the monster's scathing flesh.

A piece of the Elnoyle seemed to fly toward the committy… then the hologram shut off, plunging eleven monoliths and one SEELE Lorenz into darkness.

For a long time none of them spoke.

Nine was the first to break the brooding silence. "Perhaps the restrictions on the Evangelions power are too strict…"

"What? You saw the way Unit 01 ripped through our Elnoyle! You don't think it's powerful enough?" 06 asked in his low voice.

"The first two Children were defeated too easily! Need I remind you that these Evangelions will not heal the same way other GF's do? We cannot afford to have such large clean-ups after every battle!" Nine retorted.

"And how much more would it cost if one of these… things went loose?!"

"ORDER!"

Kihl's shouted command was obeyed. He looked pointedly at the two bickering SEELE members before making a final decision, "SEELE 09 is correct. The power restrictions must be loosened. I propose we release the barriers on their AT field capability to avoid any costly accidents."

"Ikari is afraid to overtax the Evangelions. Will he do as we say?" said SEELE 08.

"Ikari will toe our line. He is not so foolish as to act against us this early."

"But we may have to replace him…" SEELE 08 muttered.

Kihl's eyes flashed dangerously. "In time…"

======

Through slits in his helmet the Familar class Guardian Force known as 'Galahad' managed to gain fleeting glimpses of nature's beauty.

The field he floated in was wonderful. A grand, sunny plain full of white flowers. Their scent permeated his normally stinky helmet. Their beauty erased memories of painful sights from his tired eyes…

It was one of those times he wished the cursed armour was removable so he could smell a flower without having its fragrance tainted with his sweat. And yet…

And yet this small degree of freedom was better than none.

Galahad was careful to levitate, so as not to crush any of the fragile things beneath his clumsy metal feet. His red cape however he allowed to caress some of the flowers, knocking pollen loose into the warm spring breeze, from which they would eventually fall to spread beauty across the land.

From behind the iron mask the Thirteenth Knight smiled.

Suddenly the knight _felt_ someone materialise on his left. He froze, not knowing whether this was friend or foe.

Then he heard the faint, throbbing thrums of an ancient melody, and he knew.

"Tabris."

The humming stopped. "How are you, Galahad?" asked the perpetually boyish Angel in his lilting voice.

Like the knight, Tabris hovered above the ground, his perfectly shaped feet just an inch from the tops of graceful flowers, who bent suddenly in a light breeze as if worshipping the two beings above.

"I am Independent now, if that is what you mean." Galahad's voice could only be described as manly- low and completely self-assured.

The Angel of Free Will smiled. "That is good to hear." He floated closer, so that he was face to visor with the larger being. "I will not ask who your new Lord is, Galahad. But… be careful. The old fools still search for you. They have even hired some mercenaries…"

Metal scraped slowly against metal as the knight nodded. "Thank you for your information. What do I owe for this generosity?" Galahad asked without a trace of sarcasm- that concept was inconceivable to the Guardian Force. Besides, information was better than anything material to a being of power.

"Consider it a gift, from one lonely soul to another." Tabris floated back a few feet and smiled his sorrowful smile. His hum began again, and the old song continued even as the Angel's body seemed to break into pollen-like particles. For a moment the Angel could still be seen, although his mass was spread out over a larger area. Then a strong breeze carried Tabris away.

Moments after the last note of the Angel's humming faded, a red cape was seen leaving the field, borne as well by invisible winds.

======

"Well? What should we do about the committee's request?" Fuyutsuki asked.

Gendo remained silently in his customary position.

Neither said anything until Gendo finally broke the silence, "Call Doctor Akagi…"

======

"Uwaaah! That's some gooooood stuff!" Misato exclaimed as she slammed down yet another can of imported Yebisu. "They wouldn't let me bring enough from Deling" mused the Lieutenant as she began nursing a seventh can.

Ritsuko laughed, completely loose now that three cans of beer had gotten into her system. "You brought four cases Misato! Don't tell me you drank them all already?" She took on a look of mock horror. "You didn't feed them to the Children did you?! Ahhh poor Shinji having to put up with two drunk women!" Ritsuko managed to finish her sentence even as she dodged a swipe from the drunk Lieutenant.

"I liked you better when you were sober" Misato sulked playfully.

"What? When I was cranky and boring?" The blonde joked.

"When you were nice!" Misato swooned a little as she spoke and immediately seemed to sober up a little. "Ugh… gonna pass out…"

Before Ritsuko could reply she heard the ringing of her cell-phone, partially drowned out by the noise inside the bar. Somewhat reluctantly she picked it up. "Doctor Akagi speaking" she said soberly.

And Misato tumbled off her stool.

======

['… Unfamiliar ceiling…']

Shinji Ikari stared at the tiles on Garden's intensive care ward.

['What… happened?']

A few thoughts rushed back at him, disjointed and seemingly random. Fire. Smoke. A monster. His fists…

Suddenly they rushed away, fleeing before the boy could get a firm grasp on what they were trying to tell him.

Wearily Shinji closed his eyes.

['I just… wanna… sleep…']

======

Ritsuko sighed and swallowed another gulp of the tepid coffee, grateful for what little warmth and energy it brought to her system.

The two women were driving along the darkened road to Garden now. At least Ritsuko was. Misato had passed out in the back seat from too much alcohol. They had to get another patron to carry the purple-haired woman to her car. Two of them actually. The first wasn't very careful where he put his hands and got conked out by a roundhouse from the drunk Lieutenant.

Ritsuko could almost see her misty breath in the unnaturally cold spring air.

The second bar patron, a female SeeD on break, had been extremely nice until she heard they were from Nerv. Even afterwards she had been polite…

Tersely polite, to be sure, but at least she hadn't just dumped Misato in the middle of the street.

Ah well. Nothing could be done about how the SeeDs felt…

Outlined against the gray road by Ritsuko's headlights, a grat tried to dart away from impending doom.

Almost off-handedly she stepped on the gas to hit it, rupturing the bug's innards over the reinforced bumper of the armour-plated Nerv car. Its shattered shell remained on the left corner of the bumper for a few seconds before being torn off by the wind. The vehicle barely even slowed as the creature splattered over its front.

The bump caused light to flash wildly off the eyes of a chibi-Shinji and a chibi-Asuka bobble doll sitting on Misato's dashboard.

Sprawled out on the back seat Misato shifted only slightly, grunted once, and was promptly asleep again.

With the absent minded push of a button Ritsuko sent out a spray of green cleaning fluid that hit the red metal hood and slowly crawled up. At the same time the wipers, connected to a thin groove on either side of the car, began to move down, effectively scrubbing the grat bile off Misato's car.

['So many modifications to make…'] Despite what the other techies believed, Doctor Akagi did not enjoy making them work overnight. But tonight it didn't look like they'd be getting any sleep… As if on cue Misato started snoring from the backseat.

With a sigh, Ritsuko gulped down the last of her now cold coffee.

======

Interlude 

Eleven black rectangles.

Glowing red numbers with the subscript 'Sound Only.'

The true face of SEELE gathered at the behest of their former chairman.

"Ultimecia must be put in her place!" SEELE 04 proclaimed in a whiny, old-man voice.

"I agree." "We should not have entrusted our future to her." "How will we deal with the sorceress?" "But…" Answers came from the different monoliths, each in a different voice- the true voices of the SEELE committy.

Kihl sat at the one end of the black meeting room, his arm resting on a glowing red panel and his eyes obscured by slit-like VR glasses. He waited until the others had calmed down before speaking.

"We will continue as we have before."

"What? She knows of-" SEELE 07 began.

"She does not know of everything" Kihl half-snapped. "And we still have two cards in our collection. Powerful ones…"

There was a grumble of acknowledgement from 07.

"And we must- We _will_ have them ready before the completion of Instrumentation."

======

Chapter 2.5: A Long Night

======

Doctor Kadowaki almost plopped to the floor after letting loose her final Cura spell.

Yet for all her efforts, the First Child was still looking extremely pale and her eyes were still shut against the world.

['Ah damnit!'] Her face darkened into a frown. ['Why won't she wake up?! I've healed all her wounds…']

Shakily the Doctor walked to the door, using the walls for support. ['Damn that Nerv! Letting their own Children get hurt so badly…'] She had heard the rumours of course. Nerv had every opportunity to rush in and retrieve their fallen pilots. But they hadn't.

A bunch of heartless bastards. And because of them, she couldn't spend time fixing up Squall and Seifer.

['Those poor children…'] Kadowaki thought as she shut the door behind her.

======

Squall opened his eyes to the all-too familiar sight of a darkened infirmary ceiling.

['… I have a headache…']

Slowly he did a self-check. First he wiggled his toes, then slowly flexing the muscles of his legs before moving up to his abdomen. From there he went to his fingers, exercising every muscle up to his shoulders. Then, taking a deep breath, he slowly turned his head to the right.

It felt like somebody was trying to beat his skull open with a sledgehammer, but finally, eyes shut against the pain, Squall managed to complete the simple motion.

He opened his eyes and saw… _her_.

Short brown hair, light clothing… The girl stood at the window out side his room, bent over and peering intently at his face. She looked older than him though, probably not by more than a few years. When she noticed his eyes on her, she waved happily. Suddenly Squall heard somebody yell something from the room to his right. 

The room to his left was lit too, and standing in it was some red-haired girl in a Nerv suit. And it was really just a girl this time, probably even a few years younger than Squall. She yelled down at somebody lying on what the young man presumed to be another hospital bed, one hand reaching down to take hold of something.

"BAKA! WAKE UP ALREADY!" he could hear muffledthrough the glass.

With as much of a shrug as he could manage lying down, Squall turned back, hoping to catch a glimpse of the brunette again.

But she had disappeared…

"AAAAH! PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!!!" shrieked that red-head…

======

"It's not my fault you ripped my hospital gown!" Shinji protested as he struggled to cover himself with the blanket Asuka had so rudely ripped from him.

"BAKA! I'm not talking to you until you put something on!!" Asuka had her back to the boy, more to hide her blush than anything.

"Could you pass me my clothes then?"

The redhead looked around.

"Oh forget it, I'll get them myself" Shinji muttered.

Unfortunately Asuka hadn't heard, having just spotted Shinji's Nerv uniform lying on a chair. "Stupid Third Child too good to get his own clothes," She groused as she stormed over to the clothes, grabbed them, and turned.

Moments later there was a loud shriek, then a resounding slap.

======

Shinji, now fortunately fully dressed, held his cheek with one hand, partially obscuring Asuka's hand-print. "Why'd you have to slap me?!" His face took on an expression of frustration he found himself using quite often around the Galbadian girl.

Asuka whirled around to face the boy, "Because you were being a hentai!"

"Na-nani? What did I do?!"

The redhead made an angry growl, "Baka! You snuck up on me! And you weren't wearing anything! With your track record, what do you expect me to think?"

"Track record? What track record? When have I done anything perverted?!"

Asuka froze. "Wel-Well… Just a few hours ago!" She suddenly realised that she had no idea how much time had passed. And now was as good a time as any to change the topic… "How… how long have we been out?"

"H-huh?"

"Look outside baka!"

Turning Shinji looked out the window and saw that, indeed, it was quite late.

"Oh…" The glass reflected quite nicely the flourescent lights on the ceiling. Streaks of white light sparked another memory in Shinji…

Three spiralling streams of light hurtled toward a red giant. It hit. Struck through the armour…

And abruptly the memory vanished.

Shinji was about to ask Asuka about it when the door to their infirmary room was opened.

======

The elevator whirred silently down.

Inside it was deathly quiet, and Shinji Ikari again found himself standing between Asuka and Rei. He felt definitely uneasy about the silence, which had taken over ever since Rei walked in to 'inform' them that his father wanted something with the Evangelions.

The blue-haired girl stared straight ahead, her red eyes almost unblinking.

Beside her Asuka seemed to fume quietly.

['What the hell? They want us to spend another night waiting for them to finish modding the Evas? Can't they do it in the morning?! Damnit!'] Reasonably there was no reason for her to be so angry. The Hi-Potions had restored her body to its normal daytime energy levels, so there was no real need for sleep, yet. Still… ['Damn them!']

"I- uh… s-so what happened, with the Elnoyle?" Shinji asked, desperate to break the silence.

Both girls glanced at him, but neither answered.

To be truthful, neither of them remembered much past their own Eva's fall. Probably just a side-effect of taking all that damage…

"I do not remember…"

Asuka snorted. "Hmph. Well I remember getting knocked out by a weird beam attack…"

Briefly Shinji remembered the scene again, along with feelings of rage.

"B-but Wondergirl here got knocked out by a Thundaga first!" the redhead added quickly.

Rei's nose scrunched up ever so slightly and she said, looking straight ahead, "Why do you call me that?"

"Huh?"

The corners of her mouth turned down almost imperceptibly as the girl continued, "Why do you call me… Wondergirl?"

"Oh come on! Don't try to deny it! You're the Commander's pet, you'll do anything he say like a good little girl." Asuka said mockingly.

Internally Rei winced, then caught the sentiment and thought, ['Why am I afraid of Pilot Sohryu's words?'].

Her brows furrowed as the girl lost herself to introspection.

['Is it because… they are true? …']

"You're nothing but a lackey you know that? I mean, you've never even thought of disobeying an order have you?" Asuka changed her voice to mimic Commander Ikari's, "Kill yourself Rei." She then adopted a Rei-like falsetto, "Yes sir. Should I do it with a knife or my bare hands sir?"

Getting no reaction, Asuka continued "Really sad Aya-"

"Asuka! Cut it out!" Shinji finally snapped. Rei's red eyes flicked over to glance at him (neutrally, of course) for a moment before returning to the same spot on the elevator door.

In the moments that followed all the boy could hear was his own heart thumping. Oh great. He stood up to Asuka. Well… she did kind of deserve it for talking like that but- jeez this was going to hurt! Shinji squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of a blow or a storm of insults or-

There was a ding and the hiss of hydraulics.

Asuka stormed away without another word.

======

['Baka Shinji, overreacting to everything! I was just playing around! And why does he have to stick up for her anyway? What a- what a stooge! Looks like being away from those other two stooges hasn't taught him anything. Hmph. Well they've got another thing coming if they expect me to apologise. Hyne, why do those two have to be so touchy? Well at least now I know how to piss off good little Shinji the Third Child. We'll see who has the last laugh…']

Asuka grinned and allowed her pace to soften.

She had won that last encounter. Yup. She found out something new about her fellow pilots. And what did they get out of it? Absolutely nothing.

So it stood to reason that Asuka Sohryu Langley had, once again, won the battle.

======

Shinji stared at the ceiling.

Rei stared straight ahead.

Asuka paced back and forth.

The was the worst part about 'modifying the Evangelions' was this ridiculously long wait. They couldn't just go to sleep or get too distracted, for fear that the Evangelions would dissipate. Hmph. Ritsuko thought she had it bad actually having to install the things? She should've tried having to go for hours with NOTHING to do!

Asuka stopped pacing to glare at the two other pilots, both on a green wire bench. On one end of the bench lay Shinji, his knees pulled up to allow Rei to sit at the other end.

Within the albino girl, the train of thoughts begun earlier finally wound to a close. ['… Perhaps… perhaps Sohryu has been correct. I should… try to think for myself…'] A faint smile creased Rei's features as she thought this. ['This thought brings me pleasure…'] The smile deepened further with self-satisfaction.

Shinji's mind, meanwhile, roamed freely. He thought briefly of his cello, lying somewhere in the new quarters he had been given. Of his Slicer knife, probably somewhere next to the cello. Then his mind wandered to the other two pilots, and he briefly allowed himself to entertain semi-perverted thoughts about them. After all, he was still a fourteen year old boy.

Asuka, however, was not so good at tolerating boredom. Finally, after a few more stomping steps, she turned toward the other two pilots.

"UGH! That's it! Come on baka, we're going to get some cards or something!" Asuka said as she grabbed Shinji's ear and tugged hard.

Completely unprepared for this motion, Shinji fell off the bench, the hours of mandatory physical training the only thing keeping him from landing flat on his face.

"Whoa-OW! What was that for?!" Shinji asked. "You could have just asked me to get u-owowowowowowow!" his sentence was cut short when Asuka grabbed one of his ears and dragged him bodily toward the staff recreation room.

Watching, Rei smiled just a little. "I think…" Both other pilots looked up at those words, spoken in the same soft Rei-voice yet sounding very… un-Rei.

Rei almost blushed at the sudden attention, but she kept it in check and continued, "I think I will come with you."

And inside she felt… happy.

======

Ritsuko looked up from the terminal and sighed.

A long night indeed.

In front of her technicians worked hard tampering with the bindings both inside and outside the three Evangelions.

They were way behind schedule… Those techs weren't performing too well.

Another cup of lukewarm coffee disappeared down Ritsuko's throat.

She couldn't really blame the techs. They were working overtime, overnight and way past their bedtimes.

Picking up her printout from the bottom of the terminal, Ritsuko moved to join the orange jumpsuits working on the legs of Unit-02.

======

Rei was having second thoughts.

"We were not supposed to stray from the hall…"

"Oh who cares! We'll be back before they know it! Now where the hell did they put that recreation room?!" Asuka said in her usual snappy way, dragging Shinji by the hand even though it was no longer necessary. The Third Child followed without complaint.

"I-I suppose…".

"Here it is!" Asuka announced triumphantly as she finally found the door crudely labelled 'Rec Room: Staff Only!'

With a hiss the door slid open…

======

On a platform in the holding bay, Ritsuko's instruments detected a slight fall in the stability of Unit-02. She frowned. What?

It wasn't big enough of a drop to raise any alarms but…

"Makoto! Go find the-" She stopped suddenly

"Yes, Doctor Akagi…?" Makoto asked asked.

"Forget it." Ritsuko said.

And she turned away with just the faintest smile.

['Let them have their fun…']

======

"Full house!" Asuka declared triumphantly as she pulled what remained of Rei and Shinji's chips across the green poker table.

"W-whaat?!" Shinji said, turning over his own cards. He was holding a pocket of aces! How could he lose!!! Yet Asuka had somehow managed to pull out a full with the river. Hyne. He just had no luck, did he…

Rei's expression did not change as Asuka gloated over her pile. "Shall we start again?" the albino girl, of all people, asked.

Inside Ayanami told herself that she was getting used to (and perhaps even starting to like) this game. And that next time she would not bet half her chips on a '2/7 unsuited-' as Asuka had called it.

"All right, all right!" Asuka grumbled as she started dividing her pile of chips. Too bad they weren't playing for money… But at least they had something to pass the time with.

Soon Rei and Shinji's hands joined the redhead's and they quickly split the red, white and blue chips into three separate piles for each of the three pilots.

As he worked, Shinji looked between the two girls.

And he smiled.

This was happiness.

======

To be continued…

A/N: Yes, a bit of a slow chapter… Tried to do some character development here. Not sure how well it turned out but at least I can say I tried =D

They were playing Texas Hold-up by the way, the same thing they play on the World Poker Tour =D I didn't think it'd be logical to have a pile of Triple Triad cards just lying around, and normal cards are common enough.

The river is the last card to be flopped, and 2/7 unsuited is the stastically crappiest hand, they're low and you'd be hard pressed to make a straight or a flush.

Oh and the language of choice in Gaia is Japanese (both FF and Eva are from Japan anyway), but because I don't speak Japanese I've 'conveniently' converted to English, for the most part.


End file.
